£2m boost to National Museums of Scotland

Edinburgh resident's mega donation

The fortunes of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) received a significant boost this week, thanks to a £2m from a benefactor.

Miss Adèle Stewart, a long-time patron of the National Museum of Scotland, willed the money to the trust in order that ‘others should experience the educational benefit and enjoyment that she herself gained from the museum’, said Dr Gordon Rintoul, the director of NMS.

The trust, which runs the NMS in Edinburgh and five other collections in the capital, East Kilbride and the Borders, including the National Museums of Flight, Costume and Rural Life, will benefit significantly from Miss Stewart’s legacy, the largest bequest ever received by the trust.

Dr Rintoul also announced plans to name the new Worlds Culture galleries, set to open in 2011 as part of the Museum of Scotland’s Royal Museum Project, in honour of Miss Stewart.

‘I am sure she would be delighted at the experiences and learning that these new galleries will offer future generations,’ Rintoul said.